A trio of '60s figures, LaMonte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich, did the most to pioneer the field, though Philip Glass had the most success with the style during the 1970s. Like Riley, Glass often composed using small fragments weaving in and out of each other. What makes minimalism so fascinating is its artistic reach; both audiences in and out of classical music have deemed composers in this genre among the canon of contemporary classical music greatness. It uses tonal harmonies, steady pulse (if not immobile drones), stasis and slow transformation, and often reiteration of musical phrases or ostinatos/riffs such as figures, motifs, and cells, using three basic techniques - looping, layering and phase shifting. However, he came back to it in the widely-publicized collaboration with Sufjan Stevens Planetarium. Some of these works are very popular in the canon of classical music, while others deserve greater recognition by audiences. The seminal In C inspired a subsequent generation of minimalist composers, and is a prominent example of aleatoric music (also called indeterminate or chance music), whereby elements of the composition are left to chance or to be decided by the performers. . Absorbing percussion release also serves as an exploration of new modes of "classical" music-making. Muhlys approach to mixing and mastering in this recording feels ethereal; sweeping reverbs, pitched percussion, and a vocally processed soprano create an enigmatic yet instantly likeable sound that has not yet been recreated in the minimalist genre. Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Initially Reich evokes the long train journeys he frequently made across America as a child in the 1940s, but the piece grows darker as it progresses, using snippets of interviews with Holocaust survivors to contrast Reichs journeys to those made by other Jewish children in Europe during the same period. Click on the decade to view its songs. The work unfurls and expands with a sensation evocative of a solo swim through vast, open water. His piano works like I Giorni are understated, but powerfully reflective in their simplicity. Closely related late pieces by the octogenarian Reich reveal the nature of his High Minimalist style. Mothertongue - Nico Muhly (2008) Well, it's some of Glass's most radical and sternly minimalist work. You simply may have been enjoying his music too much to realize it. Eastman was an American composer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer, and his music is characterised by repeating that slowly evolve and eventually dissolve. Beautifully done live recording of the Metropolitan Opera's Akhnaten carries with it some of the production's sumptuousness. Satyagraha, a contemporary opera, is somewhat based on the life of Gandhi, perhaps more in principle than in story; the work is ultimately a declaration promoting peaceful resistance to injustice. Agnes Martin, White Flower (1960 . Generally, this music is characterized by a strong and relentless pulse, the insistent repetition of short melodic fragments, and harmonies that change over long periods of time. Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the manufactured item and the space it produced in his work, eventually reaching a strictly democratic presentation devoid of compositional hierarchy. John Coolidge Adams is one of the many composers associated with the minimalist movement; Riley, Reich, Glass, and Adams are perhaps the genres four most iconic figures. Muhly himself seemed to, for a time, depart from this genre in favor of more traditional classical music styles hinting at his minimalist roots. Read more: 9 best works by pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. 2021, YES Classical Music - All Rights reserved. Donald Judd Judd, Donald Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928 - February 12, 1994) was an American minimalist artist (a term he rejected strongly). Max Richters masterpiece, composed in eight separate parts, follows the structure of an arch, gradually pushing and pulling the listener into the climax of the works tenth section, Infra 5. Steve Reich, who performed in the premiere of the piece, went on to become one of the most legendary minimalist composers of all time. It uses tonal harmonies, steady pulse (if not immobile drones), stasis and slow transformation, and often reitera, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. His beautiful minimalist music aims to push back against our increasingly mechanised, fast-paced and switched-on modern society, and he gave the beautiful music glacially-paced melodies that slide in and out of focus just like sleep. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team. In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning. Head to American composer Terry Riley and try his repetitive and relentless minimalist work, In C. Composed in 1964, its scored for an undefined number of performers although Riley suggests a group of 35 is about right and consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases that may be repeated by each musician in the ensemble as many times as they like, at their discretion. Having mutated over the '70s. We use cookies to ensure we give you the best experience of our website. NOTED WORKS BY MICHAEL GORDON: Gene Takes a Drink, Yo Shakespeare. Few minimalist compositions have evoked the epic tragedy of David Langs Pulitzer-winning The Little Match Girl Passion. Arvo Prt is an Estonian minimalist composer who invented the tintinnabulum style of music tintinnabuli meaning bell-like. This oratorio, praised by Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times as unforgettably haunting, describes the history of the Northern Pennsylvania Coal Region. Commissioned by Piano Circus, a once-active ensemble dedicated to performing six-piano pieces by living composers, the work explores two landscapes: the calm and the explosive. Born in '60s America, with a healthy influence from jazz and world music, minimal music was a groundbreaking movement that explored the very idea of music itself. His 1982 collection for piano and chamber group, Glassworks, includes textbook examples of the Glass minimalist style, and Opening is beautifully graceful and contemplative. NOTED WORKS BY MAX RICHTER: Recomposed: Four Seasons, On the Nature of Daylight. Frank Stella, Die Fahne Hoch! Smooth Classics at Seven with Zeb Soanes The climax at 7'30'' (in the recording above) is some of the most impressive multi-piano music perhaps ever written. Conceived as a work for the Royal Ballet in 2008, Infra was released in 2010 by indie label FatCat Records, and again in 2014 on Deutsche Grammophon. Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi studied in the European modernist tradition with the likes of Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen, but when he discovered the work of American minimalists, he brought a simplicity and clarity into his composing style. But throughout history there have been several notable minimalist composers including La Monte Young, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, John Adams, and Michael Nyman. One single piano has been the instrument of choice for generations of composers. Innovation. 2010. The melody of the theme music, 'The Heart Asks Pleasure First', is simple, ravishing and reflective, and the repetitive music underneath swirls and churns underneath to create a profound sense of wonderment and hope. Philip Glass Like other works on this list, Julia Wolfes music embodies multiple genres this particular brand of minimalism is a blend of classical and folk music genres. pieces that use only a few notes pieces that use only a few words of text Well go with his much underrated Trance, an incredible spectacle of minimalist music donning winds, brass, strings, and even an electric guitar and bass. Weve dug through the minimalist music canon to find some of the very best and most relaxing pieces written in the genre. American composer John Luther Adams 2014 work, Become Ocean, was awarded that years music Pulitzer Prize. We especially like the unnervingly repetitive and atmospheric music he wrote to accompany the experimental non-narrative documentary Koyaaniqatsi, which is mostly comprised of slow-motion and time-lapse landscape footage. This is because of Rileys unique approach to the work, in which players choose to play certain sections of the work as long as they would like. It may include features such as phase shifting, resulting in what is termed phase . Different Trains is a prominent example of Reichs work with tape, using short snippets of speech, recordings of train noises, and multi-tracked string samples alongside a live string quartet, whose short melodic lines imitate the rhythms and cadences of the recorded voices. Fratres (like In C written with no fixed instrumentation) exemplifies his unique two-part style of composition that he has called tintinnabuli, inspired by bells and chant music, whereby one part outlines triad arpeggios whilst the other moves in slow stepwise motion. It is based on the musical language and instrumentation of three very diffierent types: African percussion, Indonesian Gamelan and Western tonality. Want the most simple, happy and hypnotic minimalist music there is? It uses tonal harmonies, steady pulse (if read more Top Artists Philip Glass 1,067,104 listeners Minimalism is an incredibly effective tool in spurring innovation. Top artists of minimalism genre. Well-known by fans of the Netflix television series soundtrack Dark, Julia Wolfes seminal work was the recipient of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music. There are so many seminal works by Philip Glass that it seems almost unfair to have to pick just one piece. What makes In C so special is not just the music, but rather its place in history; although technically not the first minimalist work ever created, it is perhaps the oldest minimalist work still frequently performed in the repertoire today. The guiding principle of minimalist music, said founding father of the genre Terry Riley, is producing simple, repeated patterns of notes. We especially like the unnervingly repetitive and atmospheric music he wrote to accompany the experimental non-narrative documentary, Site and Tessitura Integration by After Digital. Theatre of Voices Kronos Quartet Hans-Joachim Roedelius Philip Glass Steve Reich John Adams Robert Ashley Gabrielle Roth Morton Feldman Kent Nagano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Willard White Dawn Upshaw Jon Hassell Trances fourth movement, aptly titled Trance 4, showcases Gordons unique compositional skill; a jocular melody exchanged between a few instruments gradually builds into an unforgettable climax fraught with pulsating rhythms and a distorted guitar melody. The following encompasses our picks for the 10 greatest minimalist works. Einstein on the Beach - "Spaceship" If Glass' early operas with their relentless undulating rhythms don't float your boat, there's plenty of modern Minimalist music to explore. Minimal music (also called minimalism) is a form of art music or other compositional practice that employs limited or minimal musical materials. 87,139 listeners, Arvo Prt Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers, in my life, my music, my work, the composer says. Harold Budd. Play on spotify . The melody of the theme music, The Heart Asks Pleasure First, is simple, ravishing and reflective, and the repetitive music underneath swirls and churns underneath to create a profound sense of wonderment and hope. Einstein On the Beach and Glassworks, for example, are simply among the most iconic works in the minimalist genre, and could easily belong in any spot on a list like this. M is for Man, Music, Mozart is particularly good fun, recycling an enormous array of quotations from Mozarts music and requiring complete commitment from its lead singer. Philip Glass, Soundtrack to Koyaaniqatsi (1983) Glass says that I've been called a minimalist composer for more than 30 years, and while I've never really agreed with the description, I've gotten used to it. Though he may be reluctant to claim the title, he is surely one of the pre-eminent composers of minimal music, and has written numerous operas, orchestral works, a large body of chamber music, as well as film scores. Our website with Sufjan Stevens Planetarium piano works like I Giorni are,... Classical music - All Rights reserved evoked the epic tragedy of David Langs Pulitzer-winning the Little Girl. Compositions have evoked the epic tragedy of David Langs Pulitzer-winning the Little Match Girl Passion by our team &... Repeated patterns of notes in their simplicity closely related late pieces by the Reich! 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